A graphical user interface may include various screen controls. A user of the interface may interact with the screen controls by controlling a pointing device such as, for example, a mouse, joystick, trackball, or keyboard arrow. A screen control may include, for example, a pushbutton, check box, radio button, edit box, or dropdown box.
In order to assist a user in operating a screen control, a screen control may be labeled with, or accompanied by, text. For example, the labeling text may be displayed on or next to the screen control. A pushbutton may be labeled with a text that indicates a function of the button. Similarly, other screen controls, such as check boxes, radio buttons, edit boxes, or dropdown boxes may be accompanied by an adjacent or neighboring text label, title, or explanatory text.
A developer of the graphical user interface may design the screen controls with their accompanying text. For example, the appearance and function of screen controls be defined by a computer program or software. The program may incorporate or refer to a control text table. The control text table may associate each screen control with a designated character string that defines text to accompanying that screen control.
During the course of development of the graphical user interface, the text that accompanies a screen control may be modified. For example, an editor, reviewer, or quality assurance specialist may modify the accompanying text, during or after initial development of the graphical user interface. Similarly, the graphical user interface may be adapted for use in a locality different from the locality wherein the graphical user interface was developed. The accompanying text may be translated to another language, or may be otherwise modified to reflect a local culture. Such adaptation of the graphical user interface to a locality may be referred to as “localization.” When modifying the text that accompanies the screen control, and editor or translator may edit or modify the control text table.